Stories for November 2nd 2007

China has raised fuel prices by almost 10% in an effort to ease the country's worsening supply crisis. Officials hope the extra revenue will make refiners increase production, easing the long queues and rationing at filling stations.

Chile and Argentina's Foreign Affairs ministers, Alejandro Foxley and Jorge Taiana will be meeting in Santiago to coordinate a common position on Antarctica following on Britain's announced intention of claiming continental shelf rights off Antarctica.

World markets plunged on Thursday amid renewed fears about the credit crisis, sending shares in finance firms sharply lower. On Wall Street the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed more than 360 points or 2.6%, after two leading banks were downgraded earlier in the day.

Brazil has announced it plans to boost military spending by more than 50% in 2008, to around an estimated 5.4 billion US dollars and draw up a new defense plan, but told its neighbors they should not worry.

The Canadian dollar jumped more than two U.S. cents Friday to a record 107.18 US cents on strong employment data and a rise in oil prices, while the green back resumed its weakness against most major currencies. So far this year the Canadian dollar has appreciated 24% against the US dollar.

In one of his first statements since becoming the IMF new managing director, Dominique Strauss-Kahn said it was time Argentina deals with the issue of its outstanding debt, including to the Paris Club of creditor nations, thus favoring the return of investments to the country.

Venezuela's National Assembly gave on Friday its final approval to a package of constitutional reforms that strengthens the powers of President Hugo Chavez and his Socialist-Bolivarian republic project.

The International Monetary Fund's new managing director, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Friday said the U.S. dollar remains overvalued --repeating the IMF forecast for the greenback--. However he discarded a recession in the US and said it's no surprise to see the price of oil at such a level